The Little Human
by Crazy Diamonds
Summary: Princess Ericka always dreams of the sea; Prince Ariel longs for land. But only one can get what they want.
1. Chapter 1

**Uh... hi. I'm not new to FFN; this is just another account I use at times. :)**

**I was watching ****_The Little Mermaid_**** the other day and was reminded of how much I adore that movie. My favorite Disney Classics are ****_The Lion King_**** and****_ Aladdin_****, and while those are good movies, I hadn't seen ****_The Little Mermaid _****in a long while. And then I realized that****_ The Little Mermaid_**** easily rivals ****_Aladdin_**** as my favorite. Might not be as funny (although Scuttle always brings laughs, Timon and Pumba and the Genie hold a special place in my heart), but it is beautifully made. **

**Anyway, I got inspired by this one piece in deviantART, in which Ariel is a merman and Eric is a princess. Princess Ericka and Prince Ariel, then. And, yes, Ariel is a unisex name, so I kept it. I know that this isn't a foreign concept and that others have written fanfics gender-swapping the two, but I read them and didn't like them much. **

_The Little Human_

By: _Crazy Diamonds_

The salty sea air was refreshing. The mist rising from the water's surface brushed Ericka's face ever so gently, and she breathed in greedily. How she adored the ocean. The small princess leaned on the side of the ship, looking out into the sea with longing. Moonlight reflected on the calm water perfectly. As she absentmindedly twirled her curly black hair with her fingers, she thought she saw a glimpse of a silhouette below her. Ericka glanced down, but saw nothing. She pursed her lips and gazed over her shoulder at the crew of the ship, all dancing and having a good time. A laugh escaped her, and she walked back to the activity.

Grimsby approached her, his face an expression of satisfaction. "About time you got your head out of the clouds, my child."

"Not in the clouds. In the sea," she corrected with a grin.

"Yes, well," he said, coughing into the back of his hand. "I've got quite the present for you for your sixteenth birthday."

He gestured to bring the gift forward, and Ericka had to step back. It was so tall, she wondered what it could be. As if there was anything else it could be. Grimsby pulled down the tarp that covered the present, unveiling a tall statue depicting her in all her beauty, riding on a horse side-saddle. She bit her lip. Anyone who knew her at all knew that she would never, ever ride a horse side-saddle. It was incredibly uncomfortable. Not to mention that the statue was so extravagant and ridiculous. She never had that stupid expression of smugness on her face. Ridiculous. Absolutely.

Princess Ericka sniffed and put on a tight smile. "It's... great," she lied. Her dog Max bumped against her legs and she caressed him.

"Wonderful! Now, let's -" Grimsby was interrupted by a loud crash of thunder, and suddenly the winds rose. Ericka's dark hair waved wildly in the air. The ship began to careen from side to side, so that the princess fell flat on her back. Rain pelted down, soaking her nearly instantly. A bolt of lightning struck the mast, and a small fire began to lick the sails. Hungrily the tongues of flame began to grow, spreading up and down to the floor.

"To the lifeboats!" yelled the crew as she began to scramble back up. Max licked her face, but she pushed him away. She blindly followed the crew's orders to leave, feeling extremely confused in the panic. She got into the boat with the crew and Grimsby, who was lamenting the loss of the statue.

Ericka, on the other hand, was saddened by the loss of the ship.

And then the petite princess realized that a furry black-and-white creature was missing. "Maxy!" she exclaimed, standing up on the lifeboat. The waves nearly made her lose her balance and fall again, but before that happened, she flung herself into the raging sea and swam back the ship. In the distance, she heard the members of the crew and Grimsby call her back, but she ignored them. Maxy was barking his poor head off, backing away fearfully from the side of the blazing ship. He whimpered as his tail touched flame. By then, Ericka was heaving herself onto the ship.

"Shh, shh," she tried to calm her panicky pet. She picked him up. Max was heavy, but she could handle his weight. She bit her lower lip as she gazed down at the water. Ericka stroked the shaggy-furred dog and told him in a soothing tone, "Maxy, you'll have to swim, okay? I'm going to let you go. Swim to the lifeboat." She dropped the dog. Max yelped in surprise and crashed into the water.

Before the young princess could follow him, the mast collapsed and hit her head and hit her head. She fell into the raging sea unconscious.

**~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~**

Ariel gasped as he witnessed the enchanting young princess fall into the water. He dived into the sea, glad for once to have a fish's tail instead of two human legs. He surfaced again. Ericka was just an arm's length away. He took her into his arms and began to fight the water, dragging the princess to shore.

"What are you doing?" Sebastian protested. "You know what your fadder said!"

"She'll die," he replied in a steely tone that suggested that he was not in the mood to argue at the moment. The crab sighed and followed the merman.

Once he had dragged Ericka to shore, far enough away from the waves so that she wouldn't be swept away by them, but he could easily make an escape if need be, he checked over her. "Is she alive?" he worriedly asked Scuttle, who promptly took off the girl's shoe and pressed his head against her foot.

Scuttle shook his head in grief. "I can't hear a pulse."

Ariel rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Why would her heart be in her foot?" He pressed his own ear against Ericka's chest, and was relieved to find that the sound of a sluggish heartbeat made its way to his eardrums. "Oh, good," he breathed, staring at the princess' lovely face. He ran his hands through her long, dark, curly hair. She was alive for now, but she didn't seem as if she were breathing.

"Her lungs, boy, she must have water in her lungs!" said Sebastian, crawling up to inspect the girl.

"L-lungs?" he asked, frowning. "How do I make the water come out?"

Both Sebastian and Scuttle shook their heads and shrugged.

On instinct, Ariel leaned down and kissed the girl, breathing air into her mouth. Instantly, Ericka coughed up water to the side, kicked out her legs, and scrambled from under him, blue eyes wide. She huddled her legs against her chest as if she thought he would harm her. She didn't seem to be surprised, though, so she hadn't seen his tail. "You saved me."

"Yes," he replied, inching closer to her. His emerald-green tail hovered over his head now, shading him from the strong sun, which felt like... what was the word? It felt like the fire: hot on his skin. He racked his mind for the word. What did fire do? _Burn, _he thought. _Fire burns. _So that was what burning was. A scorching hot sensation. Yes. The sun felt as if it were burning him.

Ericka's eyes widened. "You -you're a mermaid."

"Merman, actually," he corrected her gently.

Slowly the princess relaxed from her tense, defensive position. She crawled over closer to him, sand sticking to her clothes and tan skin. She touched his face with her small hand, as if to make sure he were real. Wonder lit in her eyes. She glanced at his tail and bit her lower lip in that way of hers. "May I?"

He nodded wordlessly and curled his tail to the side.

Ericka placed her hand onto his tail and ran her hand along it, feeling the scales. She gasped. "You're -you're real. You _are_ real." She laughed, which sounded as sweet as music to him.

The sound of barking made Ericka look back. It was her dog, who was running at top speed towards them.

Another voice ordered, "Max! Come back here!"

Ariel recognized the voice as the man's from the ship. The one who had given Ericka the statue of her. He wriggled out of the princess' reach. "I must go."

"Wait," she said, crawling toward him and grabbing his hand. "Stay."

"No, no," he fretted, feeling torn between talking with her more and returning to the sea. "I have to go. I shouldn't have even saved you. We aren't allowed to show ourselves to humans. I'm sorry. I must leave."

Ariel frantically heaved himself into the waves, Sebastian following him closely. He dived into the ocean and swam just far enough to be sure that he wouldn't be followed by a certain little human, behind a boulder which jutted out of the sea. There he squeezed his eyes shut, bracing himself for Sebastian's lecture. It didn't come.

Instead, Flounder popped up, his eyes bright. "Wow! You saved that girl."

"Yeah," he answered absently, peeking out from behind his rock to catch another glimpse of Ericka. He had to admit that he was absolutely stricken with her. "I guess I did."

"I know dat face! No, no, Ariel, you are not going back on land!" Sebastian said, glowering at him. Ariel had no idea that a crab so small could look so intimidating.

He sighed and glanced at the shore again, longing tugging at his heart.

**So there is the first chapter. Not very long, but I hope you like it. **

**I also hope I kept the characters... in character. **

_**~Crazy Diamonds~**_


	2. Chapter 2

**Well, took me long enough, huh? I apologize for the long wait. I was terribly busy. At least summer is soon, and I'll have more time (not like it ever made me update faster, though. Writers' Block happens.) Anyway, thank you to those who reviewed, favorited, story-alerted, and PM'd me about this fic. Really means a lot. **

Chapter Two

Scrambling to her feet and disregarding the sand that stuck to her legs, she took a few steps toward the water where the merman had disappeared only seconds before. Ericka stopped when she heard Grimsby shout her name. Cursing him, she turned around to find him staring at her in astonishment. Max had bounded back to her royal escort, his tail wagging proudly. The dog looked so happy he'd found his mistress that although she wanted to feel angry at her loyal companion, she couldn't.

She had no such qualms about feeling that way towards Grimsby, however.

"What?" she snapped, irritated that her conversation with the merman had been cut short.

"You're alive!" he exclaimed, running towards her and embracing her.

Princess Ericka tried not to scowl too noticeably, and nodded. She gazed across the surface of the ocean for any trace of the red-haired merman, but she saw nothing. She swallowed down her disappointment and pulled back from the hug.

"Grimsby, the only reason I'm alive…" she began, then trailed off, remembering what the merman had mentioned. About not being allowed to show themselves to humans. It made her hesitate, but she had to tell _someone_ they existed. Who better than Grimsby, especially because the royal escort spent nearly every waking moment with her? "The only reason I'm alive right now is because a merman saved me."

With her words, she glanced at the wide open expanse of water. Waves were beginning to lap at the shore more forcefully, indicating that the high tide would be soon.

Grimsby chuckled and put a hand on her shoulder. "Poor child, you must have drunken too much seawater to think a merman saved you. Princess, mermen aren't real."

"But they _are_!" she insisted, shrugging off his hand and wading into the water. The chilly waves crashed onto the shore, wetting her ankles, and as the water receded, it seemed to want to pull her in along with the grains of sand it was now dragging into the sea. She closed her eyes and tried to recall every detail about him. "He had the reddest hair I've ever seen, and this pair of gorgeous blue eyes, and his tail was the loveliest shade of dark green."

The royal escort sighed. Ericka whipped her head around and glared at him, huffing in disapproval, but Grimsby's expression was one of a parent breaking the news gently to their child that Santa Claus didn't exist. It wasn't a look she got often, because she had never really claimed outwardly that she believed in fairy tales, myths, and legends, though she did. "Come along, Princess," said Grimsby, distastefully staring at the water before he too waded in and took her hand so that he could lead her back to the palace.

She let him, but that didn't stop her from glancing back at the ocean every few seconds. Ericka wondered if she would ever see the merman again. The young princess doubted it, given what he had said. Still, her stomach churned and felt like it was tied up in knots.

"I did see a merman, you know," she grumbled stubbornly.

"I have no doubt that you did, Ericka. But it must have been a dream," said Grimsby generously.

"It wasn't," she muttered. "I saw him, I heard his beautiful voice, I-I held his hand, and I felt the scales of his fishtail." To her surprise, tears came to her eyes and her voice faltered. She wasn't sure why. Perhaps because she wasn't sure if she'd ever see him again. Angrily she wiped them away.

Grimsby shook his head and sighed. "Ericka, they aren't –"

"Stop," she ordered, shooting him a watery blue glare. "Maybe you don't believe, but I do. A merman saved me, and without him I would have drowned!" Perhaps she was getting a tad emotional, but at the moment she didn't care one bit. She ripped free of Grimsby's grip and ran to the palace, wishing to be by herself for the moment. Max followed her, though, but she didn't complain.

She did not stop running until she had reached her own room and slammed the door, locking herself in. There, Ericka did not cry. She slowly strolled out on her balcony and stared at the water. So many questions whirled around her head. But those questions would never be answered if the princess never saw him again.

So she'd have to find him. No matter what it took.

**~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ **

Ariel twisted and flipped around in the water, all the while thinking about the human he had saved. The human he had talked to. The human whose striking blue eyes had burned with such intense curiosity when she realized that he was not of the same species. He wandered around aimlessly, not really caring enough to go explore any sunken ships –not that the merman was allowed to anyway (well, not that that stopped him).

Sebastian stood on a stone, watching Ariel swim around above him. "You're thinking about seeing her again, aren't you?" the small crab accused.

"What?" Prince Ariel dropped down so he could stare Sebastian in the eyes. "I'm not allowed even to _think _about the surface world now?"

"Not about visiting it!" snapped Sebastian. "Thoughts lead to actions."

"Well, you can save the lecture. I've heard it a million times from my father and you, and I'm not even thinking about going up to the surface. I'm just thinking about _her._"

"Ariel, you cannot love that human!" the crab stated worriedly. Ariel wondered whether it was because Sebastian was actually concerned with his wellbeing, or his standing with King Triton.

"Who said I was in love with her?" he asked, scowling and crossing his arms.

At this, Sebastian paused. "You aren't?"

Ariel rolled his eyes and shook his head. "I'm just curious about her, is all. About the human world." He was being truthful, of course. He didn't _love _the human princess. But there was something he couldn't deny, and that was his attraction to her. There was no doubt that Ericka's beautiful blue eyes, curly dark locks, and her laugh –her _laugh _especially –those traits had captivated him.

"Oh." This seemed to have quieted the crab for a moment. But only for a moment. "I don't understand why you are so fascinated with the surface."

"Why shouldn't I be? Give me one reason that I should hate humans, a _good _reason, and I promise, I'll never, ever go up to the surface again," Ariel vowed, meeting the crab's gaze.

"So you _were _thinking about it!" this seemed to please him, that he'd been able to get the truth out of the prince.

"Sebastian." Ariel's voice was deadly serious.

"All right, Ariel," the crab sighed. "One of the reasons we don't like humans? They _eat _us!"

"I said a good reason, Sebastian! So what if they eat sea creatures? So do I!" snapped Ariel, blue eyes blazing in anger. "And don't you act as if you don't eat dead fish, too. It's the way of life. Small fish eat plankton and plants, and bigger fish eat the small fish. Are there some kinds of fish we merfolk don't eat? Of course. But we still eat fish, because what other option to eat is there, other than plants?"

"They killed your mother," Sebastian stated bluntly.

The prince's expression was one of pure rage. "Don't you dare start that up again. It was an accident."

"And how do you know?"

"Because they don't know we exist!"

"Ariel, I'm just trying to protect you," said Sebastian.

"I don't need protecting," he snarled. "You've proven me right, anyway." With that, the merman swam away to his grotto, in which he had collected many human things from sunken ships.

"Wait, Ariel!" said Flounder, the poor little fish struggling to catch up. "I have a surprise for you!"

"What?" he asked harshly, then, seeing the timid expression on his fishy friend's face, immediately got control of his temper. "Sorry." The merman tried for a smile. "Lead the way. I could use a surprise right now."

Excitedly, Flounder swam ahead of him, glancing back every few seconds. Ariel had his gaze fixed on the mountain of stone and its secret entrance. He wondered what his friend's surprise could possibly be. They arrived, and Ariel tried to swim ahead, but Flounder grabbed the merman's tailfin and pulled him back.

Both of them laughed, and the prince floated down to the seafloor, holding his stomach.

"You know if I'm going to get a surprise, I want it right away," Ariel teased once he'd stopped laughing.

"You will. But no peeking," said Flounder, grinning. His yellow and blue scales glimmered in the patchy light of the deep water as he continued on and went through the entrance. Ariel followed him without another comment.

He gasped when he saw it. "Flounder! Wha- How'd you _get it_?!" The merman shot toward the statue of her, admiring it. There was Ericka, in all her beauty, as if she were frozen in time.

Flounder waved off his question. "It was nothing. Least I could do. And to be honest, you don't really _want _to know how I got it here."

"It's great," Ariel stated, and gave his friend a big smile. "Thanks." He still stared at the statue. It had such intricate detail. It looked just like her, only it was made of stone and it wasn't nearly as warm as she was. It looked like her, but it wasn't her and it never would be her. And that thought saddened him.

"What's wrong?" Flounder asked.

"It's wonderful, Flounder, but… it's not her," he explained. "She's the only human I've ever talked to. I know I shouldn't, but I have to see her again. It's just like this really inexplicable _need _to talk to her and understand the human world."

"Doesn't Scuttle help with that?"

"Scuttle thinks a human's heart is in their foot. What else could he be wrong about, I wonder," he said.

"So, a human's heart _isn't _in their foot?" Flounder was obviously filing away that information in his mind, though for what use, Ariel didn't know. "Well, if you want it straight from the seahorse's mouth, I can't blame you."

The prince nodded. "I'll go back tomorrow, probably. Maybe not. Maybe I'll stay down here for a few days and then go back. Just to get my father off my tail about the surface world. Sebastian, too."

"Good plan," the small fish agreed. Then he paused, looking uncomfortable. "But you _like _the gift, right? Even though it's not really her?"

"Love the gift, Flounder. Best gift ever, buddy."

**I never liked the whole "love at first sight" motif in Disney movies. But you see I grudgingly kind of-sort of included it here, because it's classic Disney. What else did I want to say here... Oh, yes, I didn't really get what the food chain was in _The Little Mermaid_. They made the shark in the beginning a ravenous, mindless eating-machine, but all the other fish pretended they didn't eat. And it annoyed me. Thus came Ariel's little rant on how he eats fish. So yeah.**

_**~Crazy Diamonds~**_


	3. Chapter 3

**Okay, so I really, really enjoyed writing this chapter. XD I was going to split it into Ericka-Ariel like usual, but then Ericka's part became too long, and so it's just an Ericka chapter, and next chapter will (hopefully!) be an Ariel-only chapter. Sorry it took me so long to update, but thanks to all my readers! **

Chapter Three

Dragging a seashell through the sand, Ericka waited. It had been five days since she'd been saved by that merman, and each day she would wander out of the palace to sit here on the shore of the ocean, waiting for her next glimpse of him. So far, there had been no sign of the creature, but the princess was remaining positive.

The sun was beating down on her, and she lifted her arm to shield her face from the powerful rays. The heat and humidity made her feel drowsy, but she was determined to stay awake. Still, constantly scanning the horizon for a merman was tiring her eyes, and she decided to take a small power nap.

Ericka woke to the sound of a quiet tune being sung rather near her, in a smooth clear voice. The sun was still strong. She swallowed with difficulty, as her throat was rather dry due to her nap. Her skin hurt, and she reached up and touched her cheek. It stung. Sunburn, no doubt it was sunburn. Her eyes were still tightly shut, and now the princess sat up and rubbed the sleep out of them.

The singing had stopped now, and she felt as though she were being watched. She opened her eyes wide to see the very same merman who had rescued her. He was sitting on top of a boulder near her, his head turned toward her.

The princess hardly dared to breathe for fear that this was just a dream, or that as soon as she spoke, he would jump into the ocean and be lost to her forever. They both just stared at each other for what seemed to Ericka like a lifetime.

Finally, the merman spoke. "So. You're awake."

Ericka dropped her gaze in embarrassment. "The second time you've been here to see me wake up."

He grinned. "It's okay. I understand how the sun can make you feel drowsy." He lifted his head to face the sky and closed his eyes. He looked so peaceful. Then he turned to her again and slid down the boulder and slowly made his way toward her.

They sat together in silence for a while. Eventually, Ericka couldn't stand it and asked in a rush, "Why are you here? I thought you said that humans aren't allowed to see merpeople. Why can't we know about each other?"

"I couldn't stay away," he murmured in reply to her first question. "And merpeople… mostly think that humans are bad. Evil, heinous beings that kill everything in their paths."

"But–"

"You aren't like that, I know," assured the merman, slightly widening his blue eyes. "No human I've seen is like that. Not that I've seen _thousands_ of humans, just a few; it's tricky to go to the surface without revealing myself. You're the first human I've ever been this close up to. "

"You're a curious one, aren't you?" Ericka joked, giving him a small smile.

He nodded and sighed. "I just don't see how humans could be so terrible like my father says they are."

"Well, thanks for having hope in humanity. That's a bit rare nowadays," the princess teased as she tugged a strand of her dark curly hair and twirled it.

"What do you mean?" he seemed perplexed.

Ericka shook her head in amusement. "There are bad fish in the ocean, right?"

He looked at her blankly. "Of course there are."

"There are bad humans, too," she replied. "Not all of us are as good as you think, but not all of us are as evil as your people think."

The merman frowned and pondered this for a moment. "I suppose that makes sense."

She let the conversation drop again, but only for a moment. "Do you have a name?"

His mouth slowly curved back into a smile. He seemed to be holding back a laugh, too, for his shoulders were shaking. "I thought you'd never ask. My name is Ariel."

"That's a nice name. Ariel," said the princess brightly, testing his name. It rolled out her mouth so easily. His name sounded like a melody to her. She stuck out her hand for him to shake it. "I'm Ericka."

"I know. I heard the crew members call you that… the other night." He looked rather uncomfortable now. Ariel glanced at Ericka's outstretched hand and back to her face, seemingly unsure of what to do.

It occurred to her that the merfolk probably had some other way of greeting each other, and that Ariel didn't know what a handshake was. She chuckled softly at the thought and told him, "Here, take my hand in yours like this." Ericka showed him how to shake hands. "It's how we greet people here, when you first formally meet."

The merman looked at her with burning curiosity, obviously wanting to learn more about human culture. So his next question was not altogether surprising to her. "Can… can you teach me more? About humans? I don't know much, and what I do know, Scuttle told me. Of course, Scuttle isn't the smartest seagull there is, but until now, he was all I had."

Princess Ericka laughed. "Of course I will! If you do something in return for me." Now it was her turn to fix him with a stare of intense curiosity.

"What?" asked Ariel, tilting his head.

"Teach me about the sea," she breathed.

Ariel grinned. "Absolutely! Yes, Ericka."

"So we're to trade knowledge. That sounds like a good plan," she said, brushing back a strand of her hair that had fallen into her face.

The merman glanced into the horizon, his eyebrows scrunching together in worry. "I, um… I actually should go soon."

"We can do it another time, right?" Ericka fretted. She couldn't bear having her second conversation with this… she couldn't say _creature_, not when they had talked so much already, and have him disappear from her life forever.

Ariel licked his lips and nodded. He glanced down and gazed at his fins and back at her, looking her up and down. "Will you do me another favor, before I go?"

She blinked in surprise. "Sure. What?"

"Will you…" he trailed off, an expression of discomfort on his face. He kept hesitating, but Ericka was patient, and waited without complaint until he had found his words. Ariel asked quickly, "Will you dance for me?"

"D-dance?" she stuttered.

He nodded enthusiastically. "We dance a lot in the sea, you know. But there's something about _humans _dancing. Somehow, it seems humans have more passion when dancing. I don't know. Will you? I saw you dancing onboard your ship that night I saved you, and it was lovely."

"I'll dance," she agreed, "if you sing for me."

"Why?"

"Silly," Ericka laughed. "I can't dance without music." She decided not to tell him that she simply adored his singing.

Ariel smiled shyly. "Of course."

The princess stood up and brushed sand off of her skirt. As Ariel began to sing in a clear, melodic voice, she swayed. His song seemed to take her to a different world entirely, and she loved it. Then she began to twirl and kick. Ericka noticed him falter in his singing as she danced, and she was startled out of her beautiful world. But then his soothing voice was making its way to her ears once more, and everything felt right again.

Ericka was used to having a partner when dancing, whether it was her older brother (who she didn't mind dancing with) or some suitor her parents wanted her to marry when she was older (like she was going to marry anyone! She was a free bird), or her father, but she usually danced with _someone_, so it was out of pure habit that she reached down and grabbed Ariel's arms. He gasped and stopped singing as she spun him in a half-circle before she dropped him and stumbled back, panting.

"Sorry," she said, her heart pounding in her chest after such an effort to lift him. "I'm used to dancing with a partner, and I must've forgotten that…" She trailed off, not having the heart to point out that Ariel wasn't human. He knew it anyway. No use in mentioning the obvious.

Ariel glanced down at his fins and swallowed. He told her quietly, "I would be your partner if I had legs."

She lowered herself onto the sand and crawled over to him. Ericka looked into his bright blue eyes and replied, "I'd be your partner if I had a fishtail."

The merman stared at her, a faint blush on his pale cheeks. He checked the horizon and flinched. "I have to go now, really. Bye, Ericka."

"Wait," she ordered, taking his hand before he could slip into the water again. "When will I see you again? When can we teach each other?"

He shook his head frantically and pulled his hand away. "It was a bad idea of me to come here at all. My father will be furious. I'm sorry, Ericka, I can't."

"But you said…"

"I know what I said," he told her in a slightly harsh tone. Then Ariel took a deep breath. "But if my father finds out I'm talking to a human…"

"Who says he has to find out?" she asked, crossing her arms. "Come meet me here tomorrow. Even if it's only for five minutes. _Please._"

The merman hesitated. He looked like he was going to say no again, and if he did, Ericka didn't know what she would do. She couldn't exactly follow him to the ocean. Well, she could, but after a few minutes, she'd drown. She couldn't bear the thought of having to live the rest of her life wondering what the little merman under the sea was doing, and if he was thinking about the little human he'd saved.

Slowly, Ariel nodded. "Okay. I'll meet you here tomorrow, when the sun is at its highest point."

**I suck at pacing. And romance. XD Also, lol, Ariel's such a stalker. I know what your name is, I saw you dancing. Then again, he did say he liked to observe humans, so. Maybe it makes it worse. I don't know. **

**I'll change the rating to T later, for reasons. Hmm, not as long a chapter as I'd previously thought. Oh, well. **

_**~Crazy Diamonds~**_


End file.
